PHNOM PENH (Cambodia) - The Ministry of Environment released a joint statement Tuesday with the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme and donors from Denmark, Finland and Sweden welcoming the outcome of a UN conference on climate change in South Africa last year.

Environment Minister Mok Mareth said "Cambodia is satisfied with the outcomes" of the 17th Conference of the Parties held in Durban from 28 November to 9 December.

He added that the establishment of a Green Climate Fund was "one of the significant landmarks that Durban has made for an initiation of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.”

British Ambassador Mark Gooding said the European Union "welcomes the agreement reached at the UN climate conference in Durban as an historic breakthrough in the fight against climate change.”